1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a diffusion plate, backlight assembly and liquid crystal display having the same, and more particularly to a diffusion plate, a backlight assembly and a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) having an improved display quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays (“LCDs”) are light receiving display devices in which images are produced not by self-emission but by external light. The LCDs need external light sources to display the images since the LCDs themselves do not directly emit light. When using LCDs, backlight units are installed at a rear surface of the LCDs to illuminate the LCDs.
The backlight assemblies are mainly classified according to the arrangement of the light sources into an edge type and a direct type. In a direct type backlight assembly, a plurality of lamps is installed in parallel and a support is disposed between each of the plurality of lamps to support the plurality of lamps and a diffusion plate.
In some circumstances, the diffusion plate may become scratched due to contact with the support and the diffusion plate in the course of storage or transportation of the diffusion plate or the backlight assembly including the diffusion plate. Any scratches occurring to the diffusion plate may prevent light from being normally diffused therefrom, deteriorating the display quality of an LCD. One attempt to minimize the contact between the support and the diffusion plate is to form embossings on a surface of the diffusion plate by adding beads to a skin layer of the diffusion plate, thereby reducing the occurrence of scratches or cracking. Alternatively, a method has been proposed for preventing the diffusion plate from being bent due to moisture absorption by additionally providing a protective film made of polyethylene.
However, since the beads are stripped from the skin layer of the diffusion plate, the beads straying within the backlight assembly are perceived as black spots, deteriorating the display quality. Another problem with the use of the protective film is an increased manufacturing cost. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a diffusion plate capable of improving the display quality while reducing the manufacturing cost, and a backlight assembly and an LCD including the same.